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Leea aequata L., Syst. Nat. (ed. 12) 2: 627 1767. (syn: Leea ancolona Miq.; Leea hirsuta Blume ex Spreng.; Leea hirta Banks. ex Roxb.; Leea hirta Hornem.; Leea hispida Gagnep.; Leea humilis Hassk.; Leea kurzii C.B. Clarke; Leea sambucina M. Laws. (ambiguous synonym); Leea scabra Roxb. ex Roem. & Schult.);
Nepal, Bhutan, India (Darjeeling, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Arunachal
Pradesh, Assam, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu), Sikkim, Bangladesh, Myanmar [Burma] (Yangon, Bago, Kachin), Thailand, Indochina, Java, peninsular Malaysia (Kedah, Perak), Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, +Singapore, Sumatra, Madura Isl., Lesser Sunda Isl. (Sumba, Timor, Wetar), Borneo, Philippines (Coron, Panay, Negros, Bohol, Mindanao), Sulawesi, Moluccas (Tanimbar, Kei Isl.), Andaman Isl. (North Andaman Isl., Middle Andaman Isl., South Andaman Isl., Little Andaman Isl.), Nicobar Isl. (Car Nicobar Isl., North Nicobar Isl., Central Nicobar Isl., Great Nicobar Isl., Little Nicobar Isl.), China (Yunnan) as per Catalogue of life; Large shrubs; young branches villous. Leaves alternate, (1-)2(-3)-pinnate; rachises 7-20 cm long, angled, pubescent; petioles 6-15 cm long; stipules oblong-obovate, 3-8 x 3-6 cm, pubescent to densely hairy, caducous; leaflets 5 -many, oblong-lanceolate, ovate to lanceolate, elliptic to lanceolate or lanceolate, cuneate to truncate, sometimes subcordate or rounded at base, sharply serrate at margin, acuminate to caudate at apex, membranous, hispid with scattered grey hairs above, hirsute on nerves, rough with scattered rounded brown peltate glands beneath; lateral nerves 8-12 pairs, slender, arched; petiolules of lateral leaflets 3-12 mm long, those of terminal ones 2.5-3.5 cm long, pubescent. Inflorescences subterminal, 6-10 cm long, more or less glandular-hairy; peduncles 1-4 cm long; bracts conspicous, ovate to oblong, 6-8 x ca 5 mm. Flowers in corymbs, 5-merous, greenish white. Calyx lobed halfway down, glabrous to densely pubescent, covered with pearl glands outside. Corolla lobes 2-3 x 1-1.5 mm. Staminal tube 1.5-2.5 mm long; lobes deeply cleft; filaments 1-1.2 mm long; anthers 1-1.2 mm long. Ovary 4-7 loculed; style 1-2 mm long. Fruits globose-depressed, 6-7 mm, orange-red, black when ripe; seeds 3-6. Flowering and fruiting: July-December
Semi-evergreen forests
Indo-Malesia
(Attributions- Dr. N Sasidharan (Dr. B P Pal Fellow), Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi
sk2015sept18/18 – Leea aequata L. : 1 post by 1 author. Attachments (8)
8 ft tall (ground to uppermost leaf) wild shrub with woody stem of around 1 inch diam.
This is the same specimen as in efi thread !
Another specimen – efi thread
!!! internet is full of confusion !!! books may also !!! : Attachments (9 + 4 + 9). 27 posts by 7 authors.
See an illustration of Leea macrophylla Roxb. ex Hornem. in Kirtikar, KR, Basu, BD, Indian medicinal plants, Plates, vol. 2: t. 257 (1918) (if the website is correct) – http://www.plantillustrations.org/illustration.php?id_illustration=161897
Now see the same plant in other two illustrations –
Who is correct?
All?
What Roxburgh himself writes (on Leea macrophylla) – “… leaves simple, alternate, petioled, broad cordate, irregularly serrate or toothed lobed….”
What do you think?
… would like to go with the latter two illustrations (the two are one and the same – Illustration contributed by the Library of the Missouri Botanical Garden, U.S.A.).
Plants of Leea macrophylla that I have seen in Sanjay Gandhi National Park (Yeoor Hills, Nagla Block, Tungareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary) show the leaf to be in large simple shape. In some rare sightings – I have seen the leaf splitting in one or two leaflet at the base, the rest of the leaf remaining as a whole. Eager to know from those who are familiar with Leea species.
I have seen your L. macrophylla this morning and as an ordinary person, who has read the description in literature, i agree with you. Thank you very much … Very beautifully illustrated Leea macrophylla in your https://groups.google.com/d/msg/indiantreepix/WRBGQHgX_qA/m_vtNXm7WlYJ upload.
I will have to read again if my species could be L. asiatica as in your 2nd upload in https://groups.google.com/d/msg/indiantreepix/4-Fw_Wmmww4/sC7pTsWY1-UJ.
Attaching few images (9) of two plants, seemingly same species. One is about 7 ft. high and the other is about 4.5 ft., recorded on the day before yesterday (18.5.13- both).
I started this thread to understand Leea in our region. One species (may be two) is very common among bushes in a rural area, near Calcutta.
Bengal Plants lists 9 species.
We can reject L. alata Edgew. and L. rubra Bl. for their red flowers.
We can leave L. macrophylla Hornem. too, for its simple leaves. It is the only species that has simple leaves, sometimes tooth-lobed (Roxb.) as per Bnegal Plants and Flora of British India.
FoC too admits, yet it equates it with L. robusta Roxb. Is it a copycat of The Plant List?
GRIN saved itself while our group haven’t! Some other efloras too mimic FoC. Does a single entity maintain all those efloras, except ours? If yes they certainly have inefficient staff in their roll.
Of the other 6 species in Bengal Plants (i will give main points only) –
1) L. crispa L. : leaves all simply pinnate, petioles and rachis often winged, leaflets broad, oblong
2) L. aspera Edgew. : leaves more or less 2-pinnate, upper leaves simply pinnate or with the lowest pair of pinnae only 3 foliolate, lower leaves 2-pinnate, leaflets cordate at base
3) L. herbacea Ham. : upper leaves usually 2-pinnate like the lower; leaflets rounded or cuneate at base
The Plant List equates all the three above with Leea asiatica (L.) Ridsdale. Let’s see a few illustrations – http://www.plantillustrations.org/species.php?id_species=591028. Please also check FoC – http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=242328689.
4) L. sambucina Willd. : all 2-3-pinnate, leaves glabrous beneath
Both The Plant List and FoC equate the above with Leea indica (Burm. f.) Merr. Illustrations can be found at – http://plantillustrations.org/species.php?id_species=591087 and http://www.efloras.org/object_page.aspx?object_id=93459&flora_id=2
5) L. aequata L. : all 2-3-pinnate, leaflets with hairs and scattered flat discs beneath
It is an accepted name to both The Plant List and FoC. Illustrations – http://www.plantillustrations.org/species.php?id_species=591019 and http://www.efloras.org/object_page.aspx?object_id=93670&flora_id=2
6) L. robusta Roxb. : all 2-3-pinnate; leaflets pilose on nerves but with no disks beneath
Well, you already know why i started this thread, and you have already seen an illustration – http://www.plantillustrations.org/ILLUSTRATIONS_HD/161897.jpg (source : http://www.plantillustrations.org/illustration.php?id_illustration=161897)
Your plants don’t look like L.asiatica to me. They could be L.indica [or some other species]. I also think my species is not L. asiatica. It could have been L. indica if it was glabrous, specially the under surface of the leaves. But the plants i photographed were hairy all over. Leaves are never glabrous on any side.
So, i think the species i am concerned with is either L. aequata or L. robusta. It will be tough to check for those “abaxial disks” if they look like the ones in fig12 of FoC illustration – http://www.efloras.org/object_page.aspx?object_id=93670&flora_id=2.
Thank you very much for helping me to zero in to my target.
If you had read properly the text in the protologue you would have found your answer.
If you look at your first link you may still find the answer.
Please recheck when you have time to spare.
What is protologue and where do i find it?
Which “first link”? I have pasted a number of links in several replies in this thread.
So near yet so far!
Leea compactiflora Kurz, J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Pt. 2, Nat. Hist. 42: 65. 1873. It will be very kind of you if you please tell me which of the images in this thread bears 1) large, broad, elliptic / oval-elliptic bracts 2) large elliptic-lanceolate involucre 3) which species it fits into the species list described in the Bengal Plants.
It seems to be so easy (to experts), so clear
Yet i’m heading nowhere!
‘..Yet i’m heading nowhere!’
Not at all; I think you you are pretty much there … You need to take a short break, relax and then look at your own images again and the FoC illustration [http://www.efloras.org/object_page.aspx?object_id=93910&flora_id=2] and co-relate. As you are the enthusiastic I will suggest you google the terms eg. ‘involucre images’ and you will get a whole lot of images and definitions on ‘involucre’. This way you will ‘learn how to fish rather than be given / fed a fish’. By the way, I do the same when I do not know something. Though FoC keys are based on leaves there are other keys which are dependent on the floral elements and will therefore appreciate if close-up images of the flower are posted, as and when available.
Long ago while i tried to id a few cyperaceae i searched “involucre” and google gave me tons of asteraceae. A search of “bracts” is more head-spinning. I think my species is not Leea compactiflora Kurz, J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Pt. 2, Nat. Hist. 42: 65. 1873. of FoC.
You will find descriptions, along with distribution of the above three in pages 138, 139, 164, 165 & 102; along with notes of Clarke in “Journal of Botany, British & Foreign”, vol. 19.
Attaching flowers pictures of the plant in this thread.
It is either L. robusta Roxb. or L. aequata L. Both the species had been described in the same journal. For the time being i select L. robusta Roxb.
Please note L. robusta Roxb. is not exactly the same plant what has been described in Flora of British India, which had been referred by “Bengal Plants” itself. Of course this is my little understanding based on very little knowledge of botany.
It’s always good to keep an open mind on the id until the very end especially in our / the circumstances.
I hope you find the definition of involucre easy to understand. Armed with this definition you must tell us your where and in which image of yours the involucre is seen!
Have not had the time to read the article you have suggested – time is a very precious commodity.
Be rest assured I will follow-up on this thread and make my own attempts to nail the id.
Check the latest pictures of the same plant, and a screenshot.
And if you like –
“….you must tell us your where and in which image of yours the involucre is seen”
That was in FoC – http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=242328692, not in my image!!!
The ongoing thread has become very long and a bit confusing therefore this direct e-mail to you (not via efi). Please let me know if my understanding is correct:
This plant is a shrub, which has compound pinnate (bipinnate / tripinnate) leaves. On under surface of leaves there are no circular discs and there is pubescence (hairiness) – is this stiff (strigose) or soft (pilose)? Inflorescence type – is it a compound umbel or another?
Regarding flower is the staminal tube entire or notched? – cannot make out from your images.
My flower (attached) has a notched staminal tube.
What about bracts / involucre?
Is 5ft_P10305021 image of your plant? – may 19 post P1030881.jpg – whats this? and is it image from same plant?
Am attaching two image of what I feel is L.compactiflora for you to compare with your flower and leaf (under surface). ………………………
I think pictures P1030883 and P1030889original in today’s upload show abaxial discs.
The bracts of Leea i think are not present in all species or inconspicuous in some species. When present they will be present around individual flowers.
P1030881 pic is of the stipule, that can be seen in the other two posts too.
5ft_P1030521 pic in this thread is part of the same stipule, wherefrom the peduncle emerges. I think this is what sometimes FoC refers as involucre.
The whole plant in all my threads is hairy, more or less scabrous. Both the abaxial and adaxial surface of leaves are scabrous.
Your leaf does not show any discs. So, it cannot be L. aequata L. I don’t know which species it is. does not show any discs. So, it cannot be L. aequata L. I don’t know which species it is.
I think the plant in this thread, and the one in https://groups.google.com/d/msg/indiantreepix/n2iG0-D0TAw/nVFoPplDE3EJ, again the 3rd one – https://groups.google.com/d/msg/indiantreepix/czJK6AzcfAg/FmW2jUa6AQMJ are all L. aequata L.
There are somewhat clear flower pictures in the link above that show notched staminal tube.
The leaves in my species are 2-pinnate.
What you are calling stipule is the involucre.
I feel this is L.compactiflora, you think it’s L. aequata and others have still other opinions which is how a healthy group should function.
I suggest you post a one final request calling group-members to give their final opinion / views on the id. If someone responds fine, if not – no problem. The post can be resurfaced periodically till satisfactory resolution.
Leea sp.? Hooghly 19-12-12 sk2 : 4 posts by 2 authors. Attachments (6) Found this shrub or under-shrub in an orchard.
Species : UNKNOWN
H & H : 5.5 ft high, fruits are slightly smaller than pea
Date : 17/12/12
Place : Hooghly
It is Leea indica
This is, I think, Leea aequata L.
Leea indica is not distributed in central Bengal, as per ‘Bengal Plants’, it is present in East-Bengal (Bangladesh).
Please check the description of L. aequata in Haines, specially berry colour.
Attachments (1)
What family this species are?
One source says it Vitaceae, one another say Leaceae.
Now under Vitaceae Attached below was the view I expressed/communicated (to …) a few days ago Well, we know this family as Vitaceae, as in The Plant List site : http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/tro-34000735?ref=tpl1, but somewhere it maybe called as Leeaceae, as in – http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/carr/lee.htm.
But, then I am not a botanist!
Hooghly Today : might be Leea aequata L. : Attachments (11). 4 posts by 2 authors.
What appears to be a shrub in rural wilderness may turn out into a tree, if left undisturbed. Similarly, a woody herb may turn out to be a shrub in reality. This is because villagers often cut or prune them in order to 1) collect firewood, 2) create a temporary passage and 3) clear a space to plant other economically viable plants.
This is a 6 ft shrub, common in village scrubs, with scabrous branches; pubescent and scabrous leaves; terminal inflorescence.
A description of Leea hirta (L. aequata L.) can be found at – http://ia600603.us.archive.org/BookReader/BookReaderImages.php?id=mobot31753000967866&itemPath=%2F5%2Fitems%2Fmobot31753000967866&server=ia600603.us.archive.org&page=n660_w282.
Can this species be L aequata L.? If yes, my another post may also be the same species – https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en&fromgroups=#!topic/indiantreepix/czJK6AzcfAg.
No posting of this species in Efi site so far.
This plant looks like the one in the illustration – http://www.plantillustrations.org/illustration.php?id_illustration=161897
But, that can not be L. macrophylla.
Descriptions of L. robusta and L. hirta can be found in Flora Indica (vol.1, p655 to 657) –
The problem is i don’t understand botany.
One offers sermons in a mail – “…. Descriptions of species among genus are appreciated only when all the species are physically seen together – else all the descriptions (in most cases to my experiences) are worded in such a manner that a normal person attempting to read them for the first time would think of giving up out of frustration….. “
Another writes, “…collectively we will be able to find some clear findings and additions to what is given in texts esp from individual personal observations. What is written in texts was the personal observation only before it went into books.”
I am looking forward to collective assistance from experienced members.
Hooghly-skDec06- : Leea robusta Roxb.? : 4 posts by 2 authors. Attachments (8)
I am back with Leea! And this time I found out that L. macrophylla Hornem. may have pinnate leaves, as per Haines’s observation. Please check the entry by Haines in his book, BoBO.
Today I went to Rajhat (near Bandel Rly stn.) Rajhat is known for its peacock conservation, but I didn’t see any! Instead I found a Leea in bamboo thicket.
I regret that I haven’t learnt any lesson (to examine the underside of the leaflets) from my earlier posts, which are certainly L. aequata L. (you agree or not)-
As per distribution of species in West Bengal this Leea in this thread, a four ft herb (still now) is either 1) macrophylla or 2) aequata or 3) robusta.
I think this is not L. macrophylla, because all leaves are 2-pinnate.
The pen used for comparing is 5.75 inch long.
Comparing the width of the leaflets I think it may be L. robusta Roxb.
One point goes against this plant to be Leea robusta Roxb. – as per Haines L. robusta has leaflets with about 11-13 pair of secondary nerves above the 5-7 nerved base. In these leaflets I can see only upto 10 pairs of sec. nerves.
It is also to be noted that FoC thinks L. robusta Roxb. is synonymous with L. macrophylla Roxb. ex Hornem.
The number of secondary nerves of this species tally with Leea aequata L.
As per Haines leaflets of L. aequata L. somewhat resemble with those of L. sambucina (Leea indica (Burm. f.) Merr.). That is why another post I submitted earlier, identified as L. indica, is actually a L. aequata L. As per “Bengal Plants” L. indica is not found in central Bengal.
Leaflets of L. aequata L. are acuminate or caudate-acuminate, which can be seen in my earlier uploads.
In this plant, leaflets are not acuminate. Yet it can be L. aequata for its terminal rhomboid-lanceolate leaflet. At least number of sec. nerves tallies.
Thank you … for taking care of all pending posts. Please, shelve it as Leea sp. only until I come up with new data regarding this particular individual.
Plant for ID, Sylhet Bangladesh, NAW-APR17-05 : 4 posts by 3 authors. Attachments (4) Kindly identify this plant with striking leaf-bud, photographed at the Khadimnagar National Park, Sylhet, Bangladesh, in April 2017.
Plant about 70 cm. in height.
It looks like a Leea species,
I think this one is Leea sp. I think closer to images at Leea aequata L.
Fruits in bunches : 5 posts by 3 authors. Attachments (6)
Location Rajnagar Kumarghat Unakoti district Tripura
Please identify It could be Leea indica.
Thanks, … On checking with comparative images at Leea, I find it more closer to images at Leea aequata L., rather than at Leea indica (Burm. f.) Merr.
Re: Big shrub : 5 posts by 4 authors. 5 images.
Rajnagar, Kumarghat, Tripura
Please identify
Leea indica (Burm.f.) Merr. ?? likely yes I think more closer to Leea aequata L. as per comparative images and details at Leea
… also posted similar plants last round the same time at Fruits in bunches
References:
Catalogue of life The Plant List Ver.1.1 Tropicos GRIN Flora of China FOC illustration Annotated checklist of Flowering plants of Nepal linnean-online (Harbarium) India Biodiversity Portal Indian Herbal Remedies: Rational Western Therapy, Ayurvedic, and Other … edited by C.P. Khare (2007) EOL |
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